Part of me feels bad for Tom Cruise, the other part of me realizes that he is a psychopath who is far too extreme in his beliefs, but that is somewhat irrelevant. The pity comes into play because he was at one point an A list actor who gave us great movies like Risky Business, Top Gun, and A Few Good Men as opposed to his current status as a regular on shows like The Soup and Best Week Ever for constant mocking. It isn't that he doesn't have the jokes coming to him, but he's gone through quite the transition from the kind of crazy where he runs around in his underwear because his parents aren't home to the kind of crazy where he jumps on Oprah's couch and tells us all not to take medication.

In his new attempt at a comeback, Cruise took on the part of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg who is part of a group who plan on killing Hitler and show the world that not all Germans support the Nazi party. Their plan is to eliminate not only Hitler, but Hitler's government by first assassinating him and then initiating Valkyrie. Valkyrie was an operation of Nazi Germany that was created to be a backup plan to seize the government if the Nazi party was corrupted. They planned to make it seem as if the assassination attempt was an effort of devoted members of the Reich which would allow them to create the illusion that loyal solders were acting in favor of Hitler's government while they were actually dismantling it.

Don't let the plot summary fool you, the movie isn't that interesting. It is mostly a compilation of political conversations between seemingly lethargic political figures. Being dialog heavy doesn't automatically take away from a film, what does take away from a film is a lack of emotion behind the dialog. Stauffenberg was particularly apathetic, and being that he is the main character it drags the movie on significantly. Even a gunfight toward the end of the film seems bland with the way the characters reacted to the situation by almost not reacting at all.

This obviously has an effect on the suspense of the movie. Without the right emotion, the scenes that were intended to be suspenseful fall flat with few exceptions that actually deliver. When the explosives go off and it seems that the plan to over through Hitler is coming to fruition was somewhat enjoyable, but the fact that anyone who has an either grade education knows that Hitler was not assassinated takes away from its strength. The ending was the only part of the film that executed

its mood well, no pun intended. Despite its abrupt ending it was very well done, and while it isn't as tear jerking as it was meant to be, it was powerful none the less.

The Journey to Valkyrie is an explanation as to why and how the movie came to be. The explanation as to why, is really all I felt was necessary. They do a good job of making the movie seem like more than it is. Their portal makes it seem like the film says much more about German's from the WWII era. It might have a lot to say to someone who is more ignorant to the subject, but history is not a strong point of mine and I felt the points the film had made were very obvious even though some may disagree. The Valkyrie Legacy is quite the opposite of my complaints towards The Journey to Valkyrie. It is a documentary of the rise and fall of Nazi Germany and the opposition of the party; specifically those depicted in the film. It was actually very invigorating and anyone interested in Adolf Hitler, Nazi Germany or WWII will find it enjoyable while others will find it educating.

Overall, Valkyrie is just a run of the mill film. If you do not have the highest standards for films or are just very interested in history this actually could be the film for you. The issue is that it doesn't offer anything you can't get in most films and the historical value is not as high as it could be. This is absolutely not going to assist Tom Cruise's return to the mainstream as much as Tropic Thunder did, but it won't send him back any further. As far as movies about killing Hitler goes, I am personally waiting on Inglorious Bastards and could have lived without seeing Valkyrie.